Scholastic Book Orders

Scholastic book order forms are coming home and have the due date on them. You can order online or send in your order and cheque to the school and I will pass them on to our volunteers. Thank you to Krista in the morning and Kirsten in the afternoon class for helping to organize this!! We ask that you send your order in within a week of receiving the book order forms. Thanks and happy reading.   : )

Our Norouz Celebration

Many, many thanks to Mali Doroodian for a wonderful Norouz celebration on our first day back to school after March Break. She brought in all the seven elements for the table, seen here, including our glorious lentil sprouts. Who would have thought that some dry tiny lentils would become such a lush green patch? It was magical to see the transformation. Other elements on the table are vinegar, an apple, garlic, eggs, sumac with a coin in it, lotus fruit, candles, a flower and a beautifully illustrated book. The children did a colouring page which shows them the numbers from one to seven and the meaning of each of these symbols.
Mali told us a Norouz story about a princess with a curse upon her which meant the spring could never come. We could all relate to that story as we looked out the window! She also brought in everything to make cards, Persian music to listen to and cookies and potato patties to try. It was a lovely experience and we are so grateful to her for all her preparations. Thank you, Mali!

Here is a link to show the steps from lentils to sprouts in case you would like to try to grow your own: http://mypersiankitchen.com/lentil-sabzeh/

An Afternoon Face

I would like to (belatedly!) introduce Heather Kirk, who is a teacher in our afternoon class for a block once every three weeks. She comes in to Broadview school and works with classes on character education. She teaches lessons on things like how to get along with friends and tolerance for differences. We are always glad to have her teaching in our classroom.

Borrow a Book Begins Today!

The children each have a book in a zip-lock bag to bring home tonight. There is a letter of explanation and a bookworm to colour. The books are easy readers and are chosen by the children themselves. They may change their books as many times as they wish, so please send the bag back any day. I hope they will enjoy reading their special books with you! 

Getting Ready for Spring

Spring will be here, at least on the calendar, this month. We will be doing a unit on it after Fairytales, but we want to acknowledge it when it arrives on the 20th of March. One way we will do this is by learning about the Persian custom of Norouz. This Monday we will begin preparing by sprouting some lentils into lovely green shoots. Mali Doroodian, a parent of a morning student, will be visiting the class to start the sprouting seeds. She will also be talking a little about the holiday. The children will have a chance to care for the sprouts over the next week and watch them grow. If any family would like to plant sit over the March break they are very welcome! Just let me know. Then when we return from holidays we will see the sprouts and the other spring objects together on a special table which Mali will set up. Thank you to Mali who is sharing this tradition with us!!
Here is a link about Norouz for further information:  http://www.kudakon.com/AboutNoRouz.html